By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the high school playoff basketball games from Feb. 19 – 21.

Boys basketball: 1. Tri-Village 82 vs 20. Milton-Union 40

CLAYTON — At Northmont High School, the one seeded Patriots move on in the OHSAA Division III Boys Basketball Southwest Sectional on Feb. 20.

Head coach Josh Sagester said they accomplished what they wanted to this game outside of just winning and advancing. They got the tournament nerves out of their system and got familiar with the Northmont gym.

“I thought our kids played really well tonight. We played really well in the first half. Maybe lost a little focus at times in the third quarter. Our second group came in, in the fourth quarter and played well. Overall, pretty good,” Sagester said.

The offense had their ups and downs to start the game, but settled in as the first quarter was ending. Tri-Village ended on a 13-0 run in the final few minutes of the first quarter.

Sagester said Milton-Union played a 2-3 matchup defense they haven’t seen a lot of this season and is a tough defense to prepare for. Once the Patriots were able to see the defense a few times, they started to find ways to beat it.

Senior Tanner Printz capped off the second quarter with a near half-court buzzer beater to put the Patriots up 46-22 at halftime. Sophomore Trey Sagester had 20 points in the first half alone.

The Bulldogs only found offensive success when they could play fast and get behind the Patriots defense. When it was a half-court game, the Patriots were able to get stops and get turnovers.

The team cruised through the second half with the reserves coming in for the fourth quarter and finishing the game. Sagester said everyone on the team contributed and executed their roles.

Senior Jayden Hollinger had one of his better games. He reached double-digit points for the second time this season and had nine rebounds. Sagester said Hollinger wasn’t feeling 100%, but gave them a boost when he was on the court.

“He was active on the rim, on the backboard. Honestly, not feeling well. We were keeping an eye on him. Hopefully, he feels better after that performance. He gave us a great boost, great energy tonight in the post,” Sagester said.

Trey Sagester led with 22 points. Printz had 14 and senior Braden Keating had 13. Hollinger had 10 points.

Tri-Village will have a week off before they return to action on Feb. 27. They will go up against 21 seed Northwestern back at Northmont for a 6 p.m. tip off.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Girls basketball: 14. Ansonia 35 vs 10. Botkins 52

VERSAILLES — The Lady Tigers couldn’t avenge their regular season loss to Botkins and lost in the second round of the OHSAA Division IV Girls Basketball Southwest Sectional.

Ansonia was down 19-7 after the first quarter, but fought back to make it a 23-25 game at halftime. Custenborder said they were in a similar situation in their tournament win against Southeastern. They were down early before they stormed back for the win.

“We didn’t want to be done. They kept fighting, they wanted to keep playing. We wanted to keep playing as a coaching staff. We kept telling them we’re not out of it. It helps the game before we were down eight at one point,” Custenborder said. “Thirteen points is not too far off that. We just kept saying we’ve been in this spot before.”

Botkins scored quick and easy during the first quarter. Custenborder said while they had success with the press, they couldn’t transition to their man to man defense quick enough. The Lady Trojans were able to strike during that transition period.

Once Ansonia changed up their defense, they were able to take the perimeter away from them. Botkins made five threes in the first quarter. They only made one the rest of the game.

The Ansonia offense then got into a rhythm. The defense generated some momentum for the offense. The Lady Tigers chipped away at the lead until they were down two at halftime.

Turnover hurt Ansonia here and there during the first three quarters, but rared it’s ugly head in the fourth quarter.

Still a close game heading into the fourth quarter, the Ansonia offense stalled. Botkins started to force more turnovers and scored in transition.

Sophomore Olivia Creager scored the team’s first points of the quarter at the 3:10 mark. By then, the Lady Tigers couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole.

Senior Bailey Schmit and junior Gabby Leeper both had seven points. Creager and sophomore Rose Barga both had six points.

It was the last game for seniors Bailey and Brenna Schmit. Custenborder said both players have been a huge part of the program in their four years and will be missed. But, he is excited to bring back a lot of players along with some talent junior high kids.

While the team was able to break a tournament losing streak, they wanted more. Custenborder said he learned his first year coaching at Ansonia that this group of girls are a resilient group. He believed they had enough to make a run in this tournament.

“Even this year, I felt like we could have made a run. Don’t get me wrong, Botkins is a great team. Southeastern is a great team. But I have full confidence in our team that if we played them again, we would win. That’s just my mindset,” Custenborder said.

Ansonia ends the season with an 11-13 record and a 5-6 WOAC record.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Around the county:

Girls basketball: 19. Bradford 10 vs 5. Mississinawa Valley 63

The Lady Blackhawks get the win in the OHSAA Division IV Girls Basketball Southwest Sectional over WOAC foe Bradford. Mississinawa Valley was up 49-3 at halftime. Mississinawa Valley will now have a rematch against the two seed Tri-Village on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. at Versailles High School. The Lady Blackhawks lost 60-59 to Tri-Village on the road on Dec. 7. Bradford ends their season with a 4-18 record and a 3-8 WOAC record. They will graduate one senior, Brooklyn Crickmore.

Boys basketball: 21. Greenville 23 vs 1. Archbishop Alter 80

The Green Wave has their season ended in the first round of the OHSAA Division II Boys Basketball Southwest Sectional. Greenville was down 53-14 at halftime. The Green Wave end their season with a 3-20 record and a 3-15 MVL record. They will graduate seniors Jack Chick, DeAngelo Branson, TJ Barr, Ryan Staver and Chace Drew.

Girls basketball: 2. Tri-Village 64 vs 20. Fairlawn 23

The Lady Patriots cruised through for another playoff win, this time over Fairlawn in the Division IV sectional. Tri-Village was up 46-7 at halftime after holding Fairlawn scoreless in the second quarter. Sophomore Adalynn Hines led with 15 points. Sophomore Tai Mize had 13 points and sophomore Kynnedi Hager had 10 points. The team hauled in 45 rebounds in the game. They will face Mississinawa Valley next on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. at Versailles High School. The Lady Patriots won their last matchup against the Lady Blackhawks on Dec. 7, 60-59, at home.